Charlotte, NC -- (Sports Network) - DeAngelo Williams had two rushing touchdowns while Jonathan Stewart had one on the ground as the Carolina Panthers downed the winless Detroit Lions, 31-22, at Bank of America Stadium.

Williams finished the game with 14 carries for 120 yards while Stewart had 15 carries for 130 yards for the Panthers (8-2), who have won their last four games.

Jake Delhomme went 10-for-19 with 98 yards and a score as Carolina maintained its one-game lead over Tampa Bay, which won on Sunday, for first place in the NFC South.

"The key thing (is) we are not where we want to be and we are still 8-2," said Panthers safety Chris Harris. "We have a lot of improving to do from this past game, but that's a good thing, because we can only go up."

Daunte Culpepper, making his second straight start in place of an injured Dan Orlovsky, went 20-for-35 with 207 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and one rushing touchdown for the Lions (0-10), who have dropped their last 11 games overall and remain the last winless team in the NFL. Kevin Smith had 24 carries for 112 yards.

"Tackling, defense and turnovers are what's killing us," said Detroit coach Rod Marinelli. "It's a tough situation, but so be it. It's the situation that we're in. We just gotta keep working and keep getting better."

Trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter, the Lions put together an impressive drive to cut into their deficit. The team used a mixture of short passes and runs in a 15-play drive that ate up over eight minutes of clock and was capped when Culpepper took the ball into the end zone on a one-yard push. The two-point play was unsuccessful as Culpepper was stopped just before crossing the goalline and it was a 24-22 game with 6:05 to play.

The Lions defense did their job and held Carolina on the ensuing possession, but Culpepper was picked off deep in his territory and on the next play Williams took the ball into the end zone from four yards out for a 31-22 lead with 4:44 to play.

After punting away the ball and then stopping Carolina to get the ball back, Detroit had a little under three minutes left on the clock, but Culpepper was stripped of the ball and Carolina recovered to seal the victory.

Detroit started the game with the ball and did something it had not done all season, scored on the opening drive. The team converted two third downs and moved the ball on a fourth down play thanks to a penalty on the Carolina defense. Then on 3rd-and-8 at the 29, Culpepper rolled out to his right to avoid the rush and found Calvin Johnson in the middle of the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 7:23 left in the first.

The rest of the quarter was scoreless, but on a drive that started in the first and ended just over two minutes into the second quarter, Jason Hanson made it a 10-0 game with a 40-yard field goal. The big play of the drive occurred on 4th-and-1 when Smith went around the left end for 20 yards.

Carolina, though, answered on its ensuing possession. The eight-play, 76-yard drive was capped on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to Jeff King to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 8:19 left in the first half.

Detroit got some points back on its next drive as Hanson booted a 56-yard field goal, but Carolina needed just four plays to take the lead as Williams took the ball up the middle and ran into the end zone on a 56-yard score for a 14-13 lead with 2:39 to play in the second.

The Panthers then recovered a fumble near midfield and Stewart made it a 21-13 game as he broke around the left tackle on his way to a 22-yard score.

"Whether he's out there or I'm out there, you don't get a different look, you pretty much get the same guy out there," Williams said. "(Stewart) can bash you up and if you let him break it, he can take it 60 or 70 yards. I feel that I can be that same back, too."

Detroit, though, was able to get a 35-yard field goal from Hanson with just four ticks left on the first half clock to make it a 21-16 game going into the locker room.

Carolina started the second half with the ball and was able to pad its lead to 24-16 thanks to a 29-yard field goal from John Kasay with 8:24 left in the third.

Detroit had an opportunity to cut into its deficit later in the third quarter as Steve Smith fumbled a catch and the Lions recovered the ball near midfield, but the team was unable to capitalize on the turnover.

Game Notes

Since a 44-7 win against the Broncos on November 4, 2007, the Lions have dropped 17 of 18, overall, including 10 straight on the road...The Lions were the last team in the NFL to score on an opening drive...Hanson is 6-for-6 this season from 50 yards or more...The Lions host Tampa Bay next Sunday...The Panthers are 6-0 at home this season...Carolina has won four of the five games all-time against Detroit...The Panthers take on the Falcons in Atlanta next Sunday...Johnson finished the game with six catches for 65 yards.